Prayer Focus 101

You shall know this day and take into your heart that Hashem is the only G-d. (Devarim 4:39 – also in the Aleinu prayer).

Learning the prayer book (Siddur) is a process, especially when you are starting from scratch. The initial step is to learn the prayers themselves. At first we struggle to recite every syllable correctly. Usually we are still trying to complete the Shema while the “shul veterans” have all left for dinner. We exert ourselves to the max. Hashem lights up our souls from all the energy we put into the first leg of our daily connection.

Over time it gets easier. We continue to recite the same prayers every day and the letters become clear. We begin to anticipate words. After a while we can keep up with the rest of the minyan. Soon we are the “shul veterans,” gently asking the new guy to turn off the lights before he leaves.

This is where it all gets a little complicated. On the one hand we are able to recite the full prayer. We can pray faster. On the other hand we don’t have to make the same effort. It gets to a point where we know the prayers so well we don’t even have to think while praying – the words just come out.

Priorities change.

The objective is no longer to pronounce every letter right. The goal is to stay focused. Our mind easily and often drifts off into improper areas while our mouth does all the work.

Praying by rote is one of the biggest obstacles for the “prayer veteran.” Reciting the prayers with the instinct of breathing becomes the biggest stumbling block to anyone striving to pray with intention and emotion.

It also presents a tremendous opportunity for growth.

If you can recite the prayers without having to even open a Siddur, why not just go with it?

Last Shabbat, I recited Lecha Dodi a little different. The Artscroll Siddur puts the Hebrew prayer on one side, and the English translation of it on the other. I have been praying these lines since I became a returnee fifteen years ago. I can do this with my eyes closed.

So I did.

Instead of looking at the Hebrew while I sang, I looked at the English. The minyan recited the first word, and without even thinking, I sang along while focusing on exactly what it was I was speaking with G-d.

A whole new universe opened up.

We begin this prayer by serenading Hashem. In the very first words we declare Him my Beloved.

If any of us referred to our spouse as my beloved in song, how would it make them feel? What level of affection would we be expressing? How much closer would we feel after making such a demonstration? If we referred to our mother as my beloved, how happy would it make her?

In this one simple line, we are looking Hashem eye to Eye and calling Him the One Who I truly love.

This is just the beginning.

Lecha Dodi talks about the Creation of Shabbat. Shabbat was the last to be created, but on the very top of Hashem’s mind the moment light first emerged from the void. Lecha Dodi recalls Yerushalayim and how great she will be when Hashem ushers in the Ultimate and Eternal Shabbat. It talks about Mashiach, and the fate of all the nations that have brutalized us. There is no political correctness or holding back in talking to Hashem – only truths. Our King does not pull His punches in warning the nations which have tormented us what their fate will be. Despite Oslo, Geneva, or the Road Map, Lecha Dodi comforts the Jewish neshama in reminding us how we will grow and expand as a Nation under the umbrella of Hashem’s loving Grace and protection.

We welcome the Shabbat singing to G-d one of the most inspiring songs in the prayer book.

I didn’t realize this until I took the time to truly comprehend exactly what it is I was saying. With all the concern about the discord and disagreement in the Jewish community, this reassures us: We all recite these words. We all feel a Divine connection when we do. Every Friday night, millions of Jews all over agree in perfect unison on the messages of Redemption and Salvation that lie within the Holy day Hashem gave us.

The great Sages talked about how we must pray with energy and focus. We need a total devotion to move heaven and earth with our words. They knew the true power of prayer because when they addressed Hashem each day they understood the language they were speaking in.

Baruch Hashem, outside the siddur we can pray to Hashem in our own language through personal prayer. We can also connect with our Creator this was through the words we begin to fully understand. As we pick up on the meanings of each Benediction, the set prayer service becomes its own form of personal prayer.

As we begin to understand the messages embedded inside, we burn deeper into our being these truths. We are reinforcing these messages deeper and deeper into our intellect. After all, we are reciting them every day!

The media does the same thing. After publishing a hundred articles a week subtly referring to Hebron and Bethlehem as “occupied territory,” even the most devout of us breathe a little faster when we read about where our beloved matriarchs and patriarchs rest. Any message jammed into our heads enough times becomes a part of us – whether we like it or not.

With this special awareness we can make sure the right messages are the ones getting in.

We are supposed to pray before we read the morning paper. We are supposed to bring Hashem into our life before anything else. We can utilize prayer as a way of reinforcing our deepest convictions before we are bombarded with what the world wishes to pass off as real.

Our generation is coming from a very far place. Many of us never had the chance to learn Hebrew or Aramaic until we turned 30, or 40, or 50. Praying the words of the siddur with total comprehension is a lifelong pursuit. It will be something we can all strive for bit by bit over the years.

That’s what makes it so special. We can re-discover the beauty behind what we are already saying. We can uncover the power and energy within every expression we are already making. With each word that passes our lips, we can better understand why Hashem blesses us with so much good at every moment. We can become kids again, re-discovering the inspiration within something that is already a fundamental part of our being.

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Dovber Halevi is the author of the financial book, How to Survive the Coming Decade of Anxiety. He writes for Breslev Israel and The Middle East Magazine. He lives with his wife and two children in Eretz Yisrael.